Convertible top covering retainer with method for using the same

ABSTRACT

A convertible top having improved supporting means (16, 36, 46, 50, 56 and 58) for securing pliable covering (10, 12, and 14) to the linkage assembly. The means for securing the pliable covering (10, 12, and 14) includes one or more grooves (18, 20 and 22) supporting means (16, 36, 46, 50, 56 and 58) and attaching means (24, 26, 28) on the pliable covering (10, 12 and 14) which engages a groove (18, 20 or 22) in the supporting means (16, 36, 46, 50, 56 and 58) to secure the pliable covering (10, 12 and 14) in place. A method of assembly is also disclosed.

This application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 680,371 filedApr. 4, 1991 entitled "Convertible Top Covering Retainer With Method ForUsing The Same" now abandoned.

BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to automobile convertible tops,and more particularly to an improved technique for attaching pliablecoverings to the convertible top linkage assembly.

The present invention is well suited for convertible vehicles utilizingpliable coverings such as convertible top covers, headliners, andbacklights. One common way that pliable coverings are attached to alinkage assembly is by stapling them to tack strips which are in turnfastened to the linkage assembly. Once the tack strip is attached to thelinkage assembly, the staples holding the covering to the tack strip areexposed and must be covered. Accordingly, trim members are fastened tothe convertible top such that the entire length of the tack strip seamis covered, however, the trim member itself protrudes above theconvertible top surface and is itself a variance from the desirablesmooth outer surface.

Proper installation of such a trim member involves matching the trimmember with the top covering, fastening it to the linkage assembly suchthat it covers the tack strip seam and seats properly upon theconvertible top, and finally placing end caps over the ends of the trimmember to hide fasteners which hold the trim member in place.Consequently, existing methods for attaching pliable coverings require amultitude of parts, each requiring precise positioning to achieve thedesirable aesthetic appearance. Thus, assembly of these parts requiresconsiderable man hours, and the removal and replacement of a damaged ordefective covering requires additional man hours.

The present invention utilizes a novel bow within a convertible toplinkage assembly that has a unique elongated supporting means. Thiselongated supporting means comprises keyhole type grooves whichcorrespond to welts that extend from the edges of the pliable coverings.The welts slidingly engage with the grooves such that the welt isdisposed longitudinally within the groove in a dovetail fashion. As aresult, a seamless connection between the coverings and the linkageassembly is achieved and the welt can only be removed by sliding thecovering in a direction parallel to the groove. Accordingly, thecovering is securely retained and an unsightly seam that utilizesconventional fasteners is avoided. Furthermore, the time to assemble aconvertible top utilizing the present invention is significantlyreduced, as is the time to remove and replace damaged convertible topcoverings.

Additional advantages and features of the present invention will becomeapparent from the subsequent description and the claims taken inconjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a typical convertible top with theconvertible top cover, the backlight and the headliner attached inaccordance with the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing how the convertible topcover, the backlight and the headliner are interconnected by thesupporting means of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of the supporting means of the presentinvention taken along line 3--3 in FIG. 1 showing the convertible topcover, the backlight, and the headliner engaged with the grooves in thesupporting means in accordance with the principles of the presentinvention;

FIG. 4 is a cross sectional view similar to FIG. 3 showing analternative supporting means in accordance with the present inventionwith two grooves for engagement with attaching means that extend fromthe convertible top cover and the backlight, in combination with aconventional headliner retainer for holding the headliner in place;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view similar to FIG. 3 showing anotheralternative supporting means in accordance with the present inventionhaving a grooved member, with two grooves for engagement with attachingmeans that extend from the backlight and the headliner, riveted to a bowmember having one groove for engagement with attaching means extendingfrom the convertible top cover; and

FIG. 6 is a cross sectional view similar to FIG. 3 showing yet anotheralternative supporting means in accordance with the present inventionhaving a grooved member, with one groove for engagement with attachingmeans extending from the backlight, riveted to a bow member having onegroove for engagement with attaching means extending from theconvertible top cover, along with a conventional headliner retainerattached to the bow member for holding the headliner in place.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to the drawings, particularly to FIGS. 1-3, the seamlessattachment of a convertible top cover 10, a flexible plastic backlight12 and a uniform thickness headliner 14 to a typical linkage assembly(not shown) is accomplished by utilizing a novel bow member 16 havingunique grooved supporting means. Typically, the sole function of a bowmember is to support the convertible top cover 10 and the headliner 14,however, the bow member 16 of the present invention additionallyprovides grooves for attaching pliable coverings directly to the linkageassembly without using conventional fastening means. Furthermore, thisbow member 16 can be designed to either replace a conventional bow or tobe attached to an existing bow.

The bow member 16 of the present invention is preferably extruded fromaluminum, however, it may also be made from other materials such as afiber reinforced plastic material. FIGS. 2 and 3 illustrate such a bowmember 16 having three grooves in accordance with the present invention.These three grooves 18, 20 and 22 are designed to individually retaincorresponding attaching means that extend from the pliable coverings andengage with the grooves 18, 20 and 22. Groove 22 is defined by a bottomwall, upstanding walls and a pair of undercut flanges. Further, bowmember 16 has a pair of substantially flat external surfaces, curvedexternal surfaces and a cross sectionally enclosed cavity. The twoattaching means used to attach the backlight 12 and the headliner 14 tothe bow member 16 are key-hole shaped welts 24 and 26. These key-holeshaped welts 24 and 26 are sewn with heavy stitching 27 to the edges ofthe backlight 12 and the headliner 14 as illustrated in FIG. 2. Notethat these key-hole shaped welts 24 and 26 can be an integral portion ofthe backlight 12 and the headliner 14 (not shown). The welts 24 and 26slidingly engage with the corresponding grooves 18 and 20, and by virtueof their key-hole engagement cannot be transversely disengaged from thegrooves 18 and 20. To prevent the welts 24 and 26 from longitudinallydisengaging from the keyhole grooves 18 and 20, small screws 25 passthrough the bow member 16 and individually engage with one of the welts24 and 26. Welts 24 and 26 are each defined as a single piece part, madefrom a single uniform material, having an enlarged solid core portionand a single integrally formed tail.

The other attaching means shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is an elongated barbedmember 28 which is used to attach the top cover 10 to the bow member 16.This barbed member 28 is attached to an intermediate portion of theinterior surface of the convertible top cover 10 by die electric bonding29 and reinforced by heavy stitching (not shown), however, other meanssuch as an adhesive may be utilized. Moreover, as with the backlight 12and the headliner 14, the barbed member 28 can integrally extend fromthe top cover 10. The elongated barbed member 28 has two symmetricalbarbed portions 30A and 30B that extend downward from the body of themember 28. These barbed portions 30A and 30B are inserted downwardlyinto the corresponding groove 22 across the entire length of the barbedmember 28 until the entire barbed member 28 engages with the groove 22as shown in FIG. 3. Note that the two barbed portions 30A and 30B form aslot 32 that traverses the entire length of the barbed member 28. Thisslot 32 provides the necessary relief that allows the barbed portions30A and 30B to be inserted into the groove 22. To insure that theelongated barbed member 28 does not inadvertently deflect and disengagefrom the groove 22, an elongated rectangular strip 34 is slidinglyengaged into the slot 32.

FIGS. 4-6 are similar to FIG. 3 and illustrate three alternateembodiments of the present invention. The embodiment depicted in FIG. 4is a bow member 36 that has only two grooves 38 and 40; one groove 38corresponds to an elongated barbed member 28 that extends from the topcover 10, and the second groove 40 corresponds to a keyhole shaped welt24 that extends from the backlight 12. Unlike the previous embodiment,the headliner 14 is attached to this bow member 36 by a conventionalheadliner retainer 42 that is detachably affixed to the bow member 36with threaded fasteners 44.

The embodiment depicted in FIG. 5 utilizes a bow member 46 having onegroove 48 that corresponds to an elongated barbed member 28. Inaddition, a grooved member 50 having two grooves 52 and 54 is detachablyaffixed to the bow member 46 by rivets 60 or the like for supporting thebacklight 12 and the headliner 14. These grooves 52 and 54 are keyholeshaped for engagement with correspondingly shaped welts 24 and 26 asdiscussed above.

The embodiment depicted in FIG. 6 also utilizes a bow member 56 verysimilar to the one depicted in FIG. 5, however, the headliner 14 isattached to this bow member 56 with a conventional headliner retainer 42that is detachably affixed to the bow member 56 using threaded fasteners44. Furthermore, the backlight 12 is supported by a grooved member 58that is detachably affixed to the bow member 56 using rivets 60 or thelike. This grooved member 58 has one keyhole shaped groove 62 forengagement with a correspondingly shaped welt 26 that extends from thebacklight 12 as discussed previously.

Although the invention has been described and illustrated in connectionwith certain preferred embodiments there are many variations andmodifications that can be effected within the spirit and scope ofinvention, therefore the invention as set forth in the following claimsis not to be limited to the precise details of construction set forthabove.

We claim:
 1. An apparatus for use with a convertible top linkageassembly of an automotive vehicle comprising:a pliable cover; a barbedmember having a base affixed to said cover by chemical bonding, saidbarbed member further having at least one barbed portion, said at leastone barbed portion having at least one substantially flat surface and anabutting surface which intersect at a substantially acute angle; amovable roof bow having an upper portion extending in a cross-car mannerwith an undercut groove disposed along said bow, said at least onebarbed portion insertable within said groove for securing said cover tosaid bow; and bottom, upstanding walls and at least one undercut flangedefining said groove and substantially surrounding a cross section ofsaid at least one barbed portion, said abutting surface of said at leastone barbed portion directly contacting against said undercut flangewithout said cover being disposed between said at least one barbedportion and said undercut flange.
 2. The invention of claim 1 whereinsaid at least one barbed potion includes a pair of barbed portionsoppositely extending outward from each other, a slot separating saidpair of barbed portion, a longitudinally elongated and substantiallypolygonally cross-sectionally shaped strip fitting within said slotafter said pair of barbed portions have engaged said groove of said bow.3. The invention of claim 1 wherein said bow has at least onesubstantially flat external surface, at least one curved externalsurface and a cross-sectionally enclosed cavity.
 4. The invention ofclaim 1 wherein said bow is elongated and extruded such that said bowhas a substantially uniform cross-sectional shape.
 5. The invention ofclaim 1 wherein said cover is defined as an exterior top covering. 6.The invention of claim 1 wherein said groove is generally parallel to acentral longitudinal axis of said bow.
 7. The invention of claim 1wherein said barbed member is elongated in a cross-car direction andextends from an intermediate portion of said cover.
 8. The invention ofclaim 1 further comprising an elongated welt that slidingly engages witha correspondingly shaped second groove in said bow.
 9. The invention ofclaim 8 wherein said elongated welt extends from a transparent window.10. The invention of claim 8 wherein said welt is also retained withinsaid second groove by at least one screw.
 11. An apparatus for use witha convertible top linkage assembly of an automotive vehicle comprising:atransparent and entirely flexible, plastic window; a welt permanentlyfastened to said window and extending in a longitudinally elongatedmanner along an edge of said window; and a movable roof bow having alongitudinally elongated and grooved element disposed along an externalsurface of said bow, said grooved element being substantially rigid, anenlarged portion of said welt engagable within a groove of said groovedelement for securing said edge of said window to said bow.
 12. Theinvention of claim 11 wherein said enlarged portion of said welt has asolid core integrally formed with a remainder of said welt.
 13. Theinvention of claim 11 wherein said welt is flexible.
 14. The inventionof claim 11 wherein said bow is extruded such that said bow has asubstantially uniform cross-sectional shape and said welt also has asubstantially uniform cross-sectional shape.
 15. The invention of claim11 wherein said grooved element is a separate piece which attaches tosaid bow.
 16. The invention of claim 11 wherein said groove has anopening at an exterior surface of said bow that is narrower intransverse cross-section than a portion of the groove that is located ata radially inward position within said bow.
 17. The invention of claim11 further comprising means for attaching a cover to said convertibletop linkage assembly, said cover being defined as an exterior topcovering.
 18. The invention of claim 11 wherein said bow movably extendsfrom said convertible top linkage assembly.
 19. The invention of claim11 wherein said grooved element is integrally formed as part of said bowin said convertible top linkage assembly.
 20. The invention of claim 11wherein said groove is generally parallel to a central longitudinal axisof said bow.
 21. The invention of claim 11 wherein said welt is retainedwithin said groove by at least one screw that passes through said bowand engages with said welt.
 22. An apparatus for use with a convertibletop linkage assembly of an automotive vehicle comprising:a headliner; awelt permanently fastened to said headliner and extending in alongitudinally elongated manner along a peripheral edge of saidheadliner, said welt being defined as a single piece and uniformmaterial part having an enlarged portion and a single integrally formedtail, said tail being fastened to said headliner; and a movable roof bowhaving a longitudinally elongated and grooved element disposed along anexternal surface of said bow, said enlarged portion of said weltengagable within a groove of said grooved element for securing saidheadliner to said bow.
 23. The invention of claim 22 wherein saidheadliner is characterized as a flexible covering material havinguniform thickness.
 24. The invention of claim 23 wherein said tail ofsaid welt is permanently mounted against and secured to a lower andvisible surface of said headliner.
 25. The invention of claim 22 whereinsaid enlarged portion of said welt has a solid core integrally formedwith a remainder of said welt.
 26. The invention of claim 22 whereinsaid welt is flexible.